KwaZulu-Natal Public Works and Infrastructure MEC Martin Meyer has vowed to double the women’s representation in the construction industry.

Speaking at a historic launch of the first advisory women’s body under the department for the construction industry on Tuesday, Meyer said he is going to work hard to increase the number of women-owned companies from 11% to double in the construction industry, particularly those doing work for the department.

The advisory body, known as She Builds, is the first of its kind by a government department and would advise the MEC and the department in all matters affecting women companies in build environment 

Meyer stated that it has been strange that although women have been known to build things that last, whether it is homes, communities, or families, they have been excluded from the construction industry, which has been male-dominated for an extended period.

“We know for a fact that there are many things wrong within the construction industry. For the longest time, women have been excluded, and that exclusion, I am ashamed to say, has been normalised. While reflecting on this, I took a step back and looked into how this exclusion has played out. 

“According to Stats SA, which released South Africa’s employment figures by gender, in August last year (2025), during the commemoration of Women’s Month, the unemployment rate for men was 31% while for women this figure was significantly higher at 35.9%. In the construction industry, men’s representation is 89% while women are only 11%,” said Meyer

He said this means that tens of thousands of capable, possibly qualified, healthy women are left out of the labour market across various sectors. He further stated that the gap widens when looking at the population’s qualifications. 

Furthermore, Meyer said that according to the same report, unemployed women with matric qualifications stood at 39.9% while for men that figure was lower at 31.7%.

“Looking at the construction sector at large, Quarter 2 stats by Stats SA showed that while the construction sector in the country had recorded growth, it was still largely by men who made up 88.6% of the workforce, meaning women represented only 11.4%,” said Meyer. 

The launch was also attended by Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli, who lauded the department for coming up with such an innovative idea.

Ntuli said he would also advise him not to go to the MEC. He promised to ensure that all red tapes are removed so that women can be truly empowered.

“I will want to see red tapes being replaced with red carpet where we can point out real progress in women’s emancipation through the foundation of this women’s advisory body.” 

He directed the MEC to compile statistics in all private and public projects currently taking place in the province to see how women were benefiting from such projects.

Speaking on behalf of the body, Tholi Cibane of CT Construction welcomed the launch of the body, saying that as women in the industry, they are hoping that tangible results will finally be seen after many promises that never happened.

willem.phungula@inl.co.za

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